Monument record TQ 57 NW 46 - Orchard Hospital, Joyce Green, Dartford

Orchard hospital, nr Dartford built by Metropolitan Asylums Board as temporary fever hospital in 1901-2 (architects A & C Harston), sister hospital of Joyce Green (TQ 57 NW 45) and Long Reach (TQ 57 NW 83). It provided 800 beds in two rows of single storey ward huts on N-S axis linked by covered ways. Admin block at W end, female staff at N end, male staff to S with isolation wards. Wood huts with corrugated roofs. Built as epidiemic smallpox hospital, not used till WW1 when it became the 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital and again in WW2 when it was used to house nurses evacuated from London and under the Emergency Medical Scheme for air raid casualties and wounded form Dunkirk. Late in war it was almost entirely destoryed by incendiary and V-1 flying bombs. The remaining huts were adapted for farm use. It was linked to the Thames and the other "River Hospitals" by a tramway (TQ 57 NW 102)(1) Farm building situated in SE corner of site, now (1993) disused, c12 small brick buildings also standing and areas of compacted gravel surfaces visible marking the location of former ward blocks. A long backfilled open drain-like structure observed on the W edge of site, poss connecting to the farm buildings (2). Site photographs (3-18).

Orchard Military Convalescent Hospital (1200 beds) used as Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) Hospital from May 1915 - handed over to Australian military authorities in Aug 1916.

In spring 2018 the site was surveyed by the Bexley Young Archaeologists Club. The site survey recorded eight buildings (A–H) and two features (I–J), detailing their dimensions, materials, and condition. Building A, near the eastern perimeter, had a tiled floor and a concrete area with pipework, possibly a guardhouse from WWI. Building B’s size was indeterminate due to overgrowth; remnants suggest a timber structure, likely a post-war farm shed. Building C, with brick rubble and sanitary ware, may have been a mortuary. Building D, identified as a workshop, retains a concrete floor and glass fragments. Building E, the largest, was the car shed for the hospital tramway, featuring concrete platforms, drainage gullies, and damaged wooden posts; it suffered fire damage after recording. Building F represents Ward Block 21, part of a series of raised wooden huts housing 46 beds each. Building G, a brick structure with reinforced concrete roof, possibly served as additional toilet blocks. Building H, marked as the Boiler House, likely powered the Laundry and included an incinerator. Feature I was a brick-lined drainage gulley near staff quarters, while Feature J was the hospital tramway, with a passing place and turning circle still traceable. These findings align partially with historic maps and Australian military records, offering insights into site layout and usage. (20)

Hazel Basford, 2004, Kent VAD - the work of voluntary aid detachments in Kent during the first World War (Unpublished document). SKE31644.

<1> RCHME, 1993, Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England: Compilation of Kent Hospitals Record Sheets, RCHME Report 1994 (Unpublished document). SKE6841.

<2> Not applicable, SMR Kent uncatalogued index entry, MOLAS 1993 Uni of Greenwich N Dartford Campus Assesment (desk based) (Miscellaneous Material). SKE6440.

<3> 1946, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9642.

<4> 1946, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9643.

<5> 1945, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9685.

<6> 1945, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9688.

<7> 1945, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9712.

<8> 1945, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9713.

<9> 1947, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9766.

<10> 1947, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9767.

<11> 1947, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9770.

<12> 1947, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9771.

<13> 1947, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX9781.

<14> 1944, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX10032.

<15> 1944, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX10044.

<16> 1944, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX10049.

<17> 1944, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX10051.

<18> 1944, Photograph (Photograph (Print)). SWX10054.

<19> Young Archaeologists Club, 2018, The Orchard 3rd Auxiliary Hospital, Tramway Survey (Unpublished document). SKE52763.

<20> Young Archaeologists Club, 2018, The Orchard 3rd Auxiliary Hospital, Dartford, Archaeological Survey (Unpublished document). SKE52764.